Each week 12thMan.com will touch base with a newcomer to the Aggie soccer squad. This week sophomore Briana Alston chatted about transferring and her early days in Aggieland.
At what point during the transfer process did you decide Texas A&M was the place you wanted to be?
"I decided when I was on my visit and met all the coaches and players. I got to know them and I felt like it was a really good fit. We all had the same goal in mind which is to win the national championship. It just clicked and I thought it was the right fit."
What do you remember most about the visit?
"One thing that struck me when I visited was driving around the campus and looking at how huge it was. It definitely wasn't what I imagined."
How much did you know about Texas A&M before you transferred?
"I didn't know a whole lot. Of course, I knew they were good. When I was at Florida State last season we played here to start the year. When we came to Ellis Field to play it was a crazy atmosphere. It's really something to experience the 12th Man on the opposing side."
How important was the spring to your acclimation with the team?
"I think it was very important. I'm really glad I came here in the spring because then I got to know everyone and got a feel for it. It was a great opportunity to work out and play with pretty much most of the squad we have now. I was able to get comfortable while preparing for the fall."
How comfortable do you feel playing on a three-back backline?
"I've never played much three-back and whenever we did on my club team I thought it was kind of weird. Actually playing here in the springtime I got comfortable with it and became really used to it. So at this point, I feel like I can do either three back or four back. I am comfortable either way. Three-back really fits what we're trying to do with pressing, possessing the ball and being the aggressor."
You have one of the strongest legs on the team. How far can you kick the ball?
"I've never measured it. I know that in the spring, during the last game, I scored on a ball that bounced in the six-yard box and I'm not sure the exact measurement. I think Coach G said it was around 60 yards. It was pretty far."
How good can this year's team be?
"I think we are going to be really good. We have talent both on and off the field and that's super important. It's all about getting better every game and playing our best soccer at the end."
What are your earliest memories of playing soccer?
"I started playing soccer when I was around three or four. It was really early. I've actually been playing defense for as long as I can remember. I never really experienced any other position. I think that's why I'm really comfortable there."
At what point did you realize you were good enough to play D1 soccer?
"It's actually a really funny story. I was never the best player when I was younger. Then one time I had a coach that screamed at me and got in my head. From that point on I thought that 'Now it's time to prove to him that I was better than that.' From that day, I kept improving and getting stronger."
What's your favorite moment on the soccer field?
"It's probably whenever we are playing a good team and we are actually playing really well and connecting and you can feel the chemistry on the field. I think it's a special moment to be able to recognize that."
What's your major and career ambition?
"My major right now is allied health and I hope to go somewhere towards pre-med and medicine."
Your father was very successful in the martial arts. Is it something he had you involved in?
"He made all my sisters and I do martial arts. We had to do karate and I only got to yellow belt, which is the second one, so not very far."
Talk about the red card you got at Missouri.
"It was my first one ever. I wasn't really sure what to do because I had never gotten one and wasn't really expecting to get that one. I thought it was going to be at least a warning or something. But, when he gave it me I was wondering what do I do and where am I supposed to go. I slowly walked off the field and I was going to watch from the sideline. They told me I couldn't stay on the field, so Curt (Magnuson) walked me to the locker room. I wandered out a couple times just so I could hear what was going on."
At what point during the transfer process did you decide Texas A&M was the place you wanted to be?
"I decided when I was on my visit and met all the coaches and players. I got to know them and I felt like it was a really good fit. We all had the same goal in mind which is to win the national championship. It just clicked and I thought it was the right fit."
What do you remember most about the visit?
"One thing that struck me when I visited was driving around the campus and looking at how huge it was. It definitely wasn't what I imagined."
How much did you know about Texas A&M before you transferred?
"I didn't know a whole lot. Of course, I knew they were good. When I was at Florida State last season we played here to start the year. When we came to Ellis Field to play it was a crazy atmosphere. It's really something to experience the 12th Man on the opposing side."
How important was the spring to your acclimation with the team?
"I think it was very important. I'm really glad I came here in the spring because then I got to know everyone and got a feel for it. It was a great opportunity to work out and play with pretty much most of the squad we have now. I was able to get comfortable while preparing for the fall."
How comfortable do you feel playing on a three-back backline?
"I've never played much three-back and whenever we did on my club team I thought it was kind of weird. Actually playing here in the springtime I got comfortable with it and became really used to it. So at this point, I feel like I can do either three back or four back. I am comfortable either way. Three-back really fits what we're trying to do with pressing, possessing the ball and being the aggressor."
You have one of the strongest legs on the team. How far can you kick the ball?
"I've never measured it. I know that in the spring, during the last game, I scored on a ball that bounced in the six-yard box and I'm not sure the exact measurement. I think Coach G said it was around 60 yards. It was pretty far."
How good can this year's team be?
"I think we are going to be really good. We have talent both on and off the field and that's super important. It's all about getting better every game and playing our best soccer at the end."
What are your earliest memories of playing soccer?
"I started playing soccer when I was around three or four. It was really early. I've actually been playing defense for as long as I can remember. I never really experienced any other position. I think that's why I'm really comfortable there."
At what point did you realize you were good enough to play D1 soccer?
"It's actually a really funny story. I was never the best player when I was younger. Then one time I had a coach that screamed at me and got in my head. From that point on I thought that 'Now it's time to prove to him that I was better than that.' From that day, I kept improving and getting stronger."
What's your favorite moment on the soccer field?
"It's probably whenever we are playing a good team and we are actually playing really well and connecting and you can feel the chemistry on the field. I think it's a special moment to be able to recognize that."
What's your major and career ambition?
"My major right now is allied health and I hope to go somewhere towards pre-med and medicine."
Your father was very successful in the martial arts. Is it something he had you involved in?
"He made all my sisters and I do martial arts. We had to do karate and I only got to yellow belt, which is the second one, so not very far."
Talk about the red card you got at Missouri.
"It was my first one ever. I wasn't really sure what to do because I had never gotten one and wasn't really expecting to get that one. I thought it was going to be at least a warning or something. But, when he gave it me I was wondering what do I do and where am I supposed to go. I slowly walked off the field and I was going to watch from the sideline. They told me I couldn't stay on the field, so Curt (Magnuson) walked me to the locker room. I wandered out a couple times just so I could hear what was going on."